At a conference in Sydney, and in my innocence was planning to pick up a few bottles of fine Australian Shiraz to take home, as it is practically nonexistent on my home turf. I used to buy such wines pre 9/11 in the BBR shop at Heathrow, alas that fine establishment is long gone and I avoid Heathrow like the plague anyhow. But but but I am convinced that I used to get wines such as those listed below in the $30 price range in those bygone days, whereas the prices I am seeing in Sydney now are e.g.:

The last Elderton Command I bought cost somewhere in the mid 30's. You're not wrong, we've seen the same kind of inflation here. As a consequence there is almost no Australian wine in my area but for the mass market goop--oh, and Mollydooker.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Leaving Sydney shortly, first time in a while that I passed through a wine producing country of note and am not carrying any wine home with me. The few wines I tasted at different outlets in Sydney were by and large drinkable yet forgettable, nothing tasted had enough character to warrant the hassle of checking a bag on my three flights home. I hope that somebody somewhere in Australia is still producing Shiraz with character at an affordable price, but I could not find any. C'est la vie...

“Of course we must be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”Richard Dawkins